Zuger Chriesibrägel (Stewed Cherries Dish)

A Brägel is stewed fruit that’s thickened with milk and flour. Chriesi are cherries, so a Chriesibrägel is a sweet dish made of stewed cherries, thickened with milk and flour, and often eaten mixed with roasted bread cubes. This recipe is a great winter dish if you live in a country like Switzerland where frozen cherries are available in the supermarkets – it makes a great change from the rather small selection of seasonal winter fruit. We Swiss love to eat a sweet dish for dinner, so this one would be a perfect weekday evening meal. But it’s also a great afternoon snack. The Chriesibrägel is native to the cantons of central Switzerland, but the recipes vary from canton to canton – there are recipes for Zug, Lucerne and Schwyz Chriesibrägel. This recipe is the version from the canton of Zug (recipe source: zugerchriesi.ch). This is the perfect comfort food for me, I could eat it every day.

Recipe for 2-3 people

• 500g (18 oz) stoned dark cherries (frozen ones work great!)
• 1.5dl (0.6 cup) water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar, or a few drops of vanilla essence, or 1/4 lemon skin
• 1.5 tbsps sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 0.5dl (1.7 fl oz) milk
• 4 slices of bread and 2 tbsps butter

Method

In a saucepan, bring the cherries, water, salt, sugar and vanilla or lemon skin to the boil. Then let it cook on a low heat, covered, for 10-15 minutes.

In a cup, stir the milk and flour and pour it into the cherry soup. Bring to the boil again while stirring. Let it cool down.

Cut up the bread into small cubes and gently roast them with the butter in a frying pan. This will take about 10 minutes. Stir the crunchy bread into the cherry soup and enjoy!